Samsung’s latest Facebook marketing campaign overrun by Apple fans

Social networks can be a great tool for getting word of a new product out to your fans quickly, but as we’ve seen time and time again, using social networks as a marketing tool has a way of backfiring at the worst times. The latest example of this is Samsung, which thought it would be a good idea to ask the question, “If you could only take one electronic device on to a deserted island, what would it be?” on its Facebook page. The company posted an image of the Galaxy S III in a deserted island-like setting, obviously hoping that the majority of commenters would lean in that direction, or at least claim they would prefer to be stranded with a Samsung device.

That isn’t the case, as in the past few days, that post has been flooded with people saying they would prefer to have an iPhone or an iPad with them. There are even a handful who are saying they’d like to be stuck with a Lumia, though to be fair, Samsung is getting a few who are saying that a Galaxy S III or Galaxy Note is their device of choice. Still, as far as most of the commenters are concerned, an iPhone 5 or an iPad are the hot ticket items to have if you’re ever stranded on a deserted island.

This can be at least partially blamed on the excitement over the incoming release of the iPhone 5, which launches on Friday. Most of the blame, however, lies with the ongoing spat between Samsung and Apple. We’ve got the recent courtroom patent brawl between the two companies to point to, but the war between Samsung and Apple fans was raging long before then. With Samsung claiming the title of largest Android manufacturer, the war between iOS and Android frequently becomes a war between Apple and Samsung.

Samsung has done its part to stoke the flames, however. Over the weekend, it released a new ad favorably comparing the Galaxy S III to the iPhone 5, and just today it released that rumored commercial targeted at pulling people away from Apple and getting a Samsung device in their hands. Make no mistake, the war between the smartphone giants is still going strong, and this latest marketing flub is proof of that. So, how about it – if you were stuck on a deserted island, which device would you prefer to have on hand?